The message is clear. If you oppose the homosexual-rights agenda,
you will be targeted for elimination.

If you don’t believe this, look no further than the current plight of
the Boy Scouts of America.

Last June, after the U.S. Supreme Court agreed that the Scouts could
continue — as a private organization, not a “public accommodation”
required to abide by anti-discrimination laws — to enact its morality
clause for Scout leaders, conservative Americans celebrated the narrow,
5-4 victory.

However, that High Court ruling now appears to be just the beginning
of a ferocious effort by homosexuals, corporate America and even the
federal government to force the Scouts to reevaluate their 87-year
morality requirement for leaders — a requirement that forbids
homosexuality.

If America’s new social order cannot compel the Scouts to change,
they will do everything in their power to demonize the venerable
organization in the eyes of our fellow Americans. Homosexual-rights
groups are already attempting to financially damage the organization by
encouraging American corporations to eliminate funding of the Scouts.
So far, their plan appears to be working.

“The Supreme Court outed the Boy Scouts as a bigoted organization,”
recently stated Scott Cozza, whose group, Scouting For All, advocates
the inclusion of homosexuals into the Boy Scouts. “Now, the United Ways
and all these municipalities need to step forward and say, ‘We’re not
going to contribute. We’re going to follow our own anti-discrimination
policies.'”

Homosexual-rights leaders are urging the United Way, which
contributed more than $83 million to Scouting programs in 1996, to
reconsider its funding of the organization. While United Way funding is
determined at the local level, widespread decisions by the
organization’s 1,400 municipal leaders to withdraw funding to the Scouts
would be devastating.

Published reports indicate that United Way chapters have already cut
off millions of dollars in support for the organization. The Scouts
recently reported that donations and support for the group has indeed
dropped following the Supreme Court ruling.

On the corporate level, The New York Times reported that companies
such as Chase Manhattan Bank and Textron Inc. have withdrawn hundreds of
thousands of dollars in contributions. The Scouts have also seen the
financial support from companies such as Levi Strauss & Co. and Wells
Fargo disappear.

Other organizations are said to be considering similar action.
Merrill Lynch & Co., which gives more than $100,000 a year to the
Scouts, has said it is “actively reviewing” its relationship with the
group. And Knight Ridder has requested that funds it gives to the
United Way not be directed to the Boy Scouts.

As we’ve recently seen with advertisers withdrawing support from Dr.
Laura Schlessinger’s radio and TV broadcasts, this corporate withdrawal
of funds could quickly escalate against the Scouts.

American Renewal Vice President Richard Lessner responded to this
corporate monetary war by saying, “We deplore the attempted blacklisting
of those who dare to dissent from the political agenda of the militant
homosexual lobby. This is a throwback to the rightly discredited
tactics of the McCarthy era.

“Organizations such as the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
and Scouting For All do not seek to persuade the American people or
defeat their political opponents through open, fair and honest debate.
Instead, they work to quash all public discussion of their radical
political agenda by branding those who disagree as hate-mongers and
homophobes. While decrying ‘defamation,’ they defame their critics.

“The vast majority of the American people do not support the radical
political agenda of the militant homosexual lobby, which includes the
legalization of same-sex marriage and compelling private organizations
such as the Boy Scouts to accept homosexuality despite deeply held moral
and religious beliefs.”

Additionally, the cities of Chicago, San Francisco and San Jose have
barred Scout troops from holding meetings in public parks, schools and
other municipal sites, the Times said.

This is an all-out effort to hurt the Boy Scouts. It is also the
equivalent of a modern-day witch hunt and it is a shocking thing to
behold.

The Boy Scouts have trained countless young men to honor their
country, to live above reproach and to become leaders in their
communities. However, that positive legacy is absolutely irrelevant and
insignificant to the single-minded barons of the politically correct
dogma of our day.

The White House vs. the Scouts

Even more disturbing than corporate America’s growing betrayal of the
Scouts is the fact that the Clinton administration appears to be joining
in this effort to disparage and debilitate the Scouts.

The Washington Times reported on Thursday that a division of the
Department of Interior has been gathering information on its ties to the
Boy Scouts to determine whether such ties violate President Clinton’s
executive order banning discrimination on the basis of sexual
orientation.

A recent memo, written by Nattie Silva, assistant director of the
Bureau of Reclamation’s Diversity and Equal Opportunity office, has
instructed employees to “… identify and explain all activities,
events, or programs that each of your Bureaus has with the Boy Scouts of
America.”

“Ignoring the rule of law, the Clinton administration appears to be
readying a shocking attack on the Boy Scouts,” said Robert Knight,
senior director of cultural studies at the Family Research Council.
“Americans need to fight back by telling the administration and the
homosexual groups that are prompting such attacks: Keep your hands off
the Boy Scouts.”

“Clearly, the Clinton administration is preparing a major attack on
the Boy Scouts by doing an end-run around the Supreme Court decision on
behalf of the Scouts,” added FRC’s Senior Director Janet LaRue. “There
can be no other plausible reason for seeking this type of information
about a single organization.”

The most troubling factor in this entire debacle is the fact that,
should the Boy Scouts ultimately be financially devastated or forced to
change their morality clause, religious-based institutions that receive
federal funds could be the next victims of this radical assault on
traditional values and free speech. With the shocking successes the
homosexual-rights community is having against the Boy Scouts and Dr.
Schlessinger, I believe the Christian community should be extremely
concerned.

Pray for Dr. John Rawlings

My good friend and mentor, Dr. John Rawlings, experienced what
appears to be a temporary health setback last week when he fell and
injured his shoulder. Dr. Rawlings has also been experiencing some
heart problems and had a pacemaker implanted to repair this problem.

This wonderful man of God, now 87 years old, has been one of the
preeminent church planters, evangelists, missionaries and pastors of the
20th century. I truly believe that God is not finished with him yet and
Dr. Rawlings (“Dr. John” as he is known to most) has not let these
problems prevent him from continuing to plan for future ministry.

For the past six years, since leaving his 43-year pastorate at
Cincinnati’s Landmark Baptist Temple, Dr. Rawlings and his executive
assistant (and eldest son), Herb, have traveled many times to the
Philippines, Japan, India, Fiji, Mexico and Brazil — in addition to
overseeing an aggressive church planting effort in the U.S. He has
preached almost daily and poured millions of dollars from the Rawlings
Foundation into these nations, seeking to win souls and to establish
Baptist Bible Fellowship International outposts worldwide.

Herb Rawlings told me that Dr. Rawlings is feeling better today
(Thursday) and is anxious to get back to work. That is great news! I
am praying that God will fully heal Dr. John so that he can continue his
vibrant and important worldwide ministry. I encourage all of you to
join me in praying for one of the most remarkable Christian servants of
our day.

Cards of encouragement to Dr. Rawlings may be sent to the following
address: